By Steven T. Jones
For the last year, the Guardian has been trying to get mainstream San Francisco to pay attention to the mounting threats to this city’s nightlife and outdoor events. Last night, the issue finally started getting some traction when the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling on the city to value fun and enact policy changes to protect it (to read the resolution, click here and select “Nightlife and Festivals Resolution”). Kudos to all the representatives who supported it and to the Outdoor Events Coalition and Nightlife Coalition for their advocacy on the issue. There are signs that Mayor Gavin Newsom is coming around on the issue, but the real test will be whether he can rein in the bureaucracy’s hunger for bigger fees and make fun a priority in his next budget update. BTW, it would also be nice if the Chronicle, Examiner, and local TV stations would start paying attention to an issue that goes to the heart of whether San Francisco maintains its lively culture. We really can’t be the only ones that love a good party, can we?
Photo from How Weird Street Faire, courtesy of Mv.gals.net